Breaking the Silk Thread
by Leigh.Aviator
Summary: As the Chipmunks and Chipettes grow up and begin the grueling journey through high school, their relationships between each other begin to take on new light. Will Jeanette continue to hold her tongue for Simon, or will she cross the line? S/J. R&R!
1. The Wanton's Bird

_A/N: If you're taking the time to read this, let me personally thank you for reading my first ever published AATC fanfic. I've written quite a few others for Maximum Ride (as you can tell if you happen to have read my bio), but this is one of my first for the Chipmunks. Just to let you know, I love all the classic couples, but Jeanette and Simon are my two favorite characters. Have been since I started watching them at a very young age. Something else I would like to mention is that I loathe, despise, and any other word in the Thesaurus that you can look up for hate, Science. I am not, and never will be, a science person. However, my two of my lovely characters are in High School Science Lab for the first scene, so the best I can do is throw in random ingredients for blowing things up (oops. Spoiler ;) ) Anyway, totally ignore the chemicals, thank you again for reading, I'll update as soon as possible, and remember, constructive criticism is the best kind!_

_P.S.: If you happen to find any grammatical/spelling errors, please tell me. I'm a grammar freak and I'll fix it immediately._

**Breaking the Silk Thread**

"Jeanette, could you pass me the vitriol?"

She leaned over, her overly large apron front brushing the top of the beaker bubbling on the Bunsen burner.

"Careful, don't want to knock that over," Simon warned, eyeing the boiling mixture.

"Darnit, it's just too big," she replied, pressing the extra cloth to her chest as she took a step back, surveying their ongoing experiment. She watched Simon busily measuring out the next round of ingredients into test tubes while checking his watch.

"Fifteen minutes, right?" She asked him, checking the book. He nodded, looking at her and then over her shoulder at their brother and sister, who were arguing about whether the sulfuric acid could eat off their fingers or not.

"Forget that stuff, I'm getting some of Simon's…whatdyou call it, Simon? Vicodin?"

"Vitriol, Alvin. It's—"

"It's stronger than your sulfuric acid, Britney! Simon's stuff could eat off your whole hand!"

"It's the same chemical, Alvin, just different forms—"

"Why don't you give it a try then, Mr. Know-It-All?" Brittany challenged, holding the test tube out to Alvin and ignoring Simon's comment. Simon rolled his eyes, looking back at Jeanette. "Freshmen in high school, and they're still bickering after all these years."

"Some things never change," she replied, shaking her head at the two. "I'm going to the bathroom; make sure they don't kill themselves, will you?" She laughed, pulling off her black rubber gloves. She walked out the door, hearing Simon starting in on the pair.

Walking out of the stall in the bathroom and washing her hands at the sink, Jeanette caught herself tying and untying her hair ribbon, pulling her hair out of its messy bun and fixing it two or three times before realizing what she was doing.

"Am I...primping?" She asked her reflection as she took her glasses off and cleaned them on her apron front. "Why do I feel the need to fix my hair for Biology all of a sudden?" She wondered aloud as she looked at her washed out eyes behind her glasses. "I should really start getting into Brittany's make-up; I look like a nine-year-old." Her hair ribbon caught her attention on the counter as she tried to get her mind off of her seemingly helpless looks and her newfound interest in improving them.

"I have got to do something about this apron," she continued, taking the loose ribbon off the counter and tying it around her chest. As she turned to the side, she noticed the ribbon was sitting under, could it be a bust line? Brittany boasted about her new figure ever since she had "blossomed" about six months ago, and Eleanor had always had a curvy figure that had only gotten better since she had grown a few inches taller in the past year, but Jeanette had always felt like the same tall, gangly sister; looking more like a stick than a girl. Shaking the thought out of her mind, she took one more look at her impossibly messy hair before walking back in the classroom.

"Did you fall in?" Simon asked, his eyes on the test tubes. She chuckled uneasily, pushing her hands back into her gloves.

"That is so cute, Jeanette! Accessorizing the cliché science lab apron! I'm glad to see you're finally getting your head into fashion," Brittany came up behind her sister, fingering the purple ribbon tied around her waist.

"I was just trying to keep it from falling into the chemicals," she replied, blushing as Simon glanced her way. Actually, she realized he was just eyeing the bottle of ammonia at her side as he asked her for it. She passed the bottle to him as he filled the test tubes.

"Want to do the honors?" He asked her, passing her one of the chemicals.

She leaned down to be eye-level with the boiling mixture in front of her, seeing her bespectacled reflection in the glass. She closed her eyes, thinking about her experiment in the bathroom as she shook her head dejectedly.

When she opened her eyes, the overflowing mixture was flying toward her face, and she flung up her hands to protect it. Her head slammed against the countertop of the table behind her as she stumbled back, slumping to the floor in darkness.

_A/N: Sorry that was so short. All of my first chapters are usually cropped; I like to get straight to the point. _

_Before I keep going with this, let me give you a head's up on the chapter and story titles. Everyone's read Romeo & Juliet, correct? If not, go see the 90s version, it's almost just as good as the play, in my opinion. Nevertheless, the famous Wanton quote, for those of you who know it, will weave its way into the story and explain itself later. I'm stirring the romance of Shakespeare's R&J into my own fanfic. And for those of you who don't give two hoots about Shakespeare, don't worry. It won't matter. Read anyway!_

_The next chapter will be up ASAP. R&R!_


	2. The Glove

_A/N: Sorry it took me so long to update, I'm still trying to get all the kinks out. After this chapter I'm working in several subplots to work in the other Chipmunks and Chipettes :) Don't forget to review!_

"**See, how she leans her cheek upon her hand!**

**O that I were a glove upon that hand, **

**That I might touch that cheek!"**

"Jeanette!" She heard Simon calling her name as she felt his arms around her waist, about where her purple hair ribbon was wrapped, she thought hazily to herself. He pulled her to a sitting position, leaning her back against the lab table as her eyes fluttered opened, her hand reaching for her head.

"No, don't touch anything with your hands," Simon warned her grabbing her wrist. When she opened her eyes completely, the world was a blur around her. The best she could see was the blue in Simon's shirt.

"W...where are my glasses?" She started to fumble beside her seat on the floor when Simon grabbed her other wrist.

"No, Jeanette. Not your hands. Here," he released her for a split second to place her glasses gently on her nose. Then his hands were back on her wrists.

When her vision cleared, she saw his furrowed brow, as well as the Chipmunks and her sisters, along with the rest of the class, peering over at her.

Finally she looked down at her hands to see them splattered with the explosion of acid, her holy gloves lying discarded beside him. One large black oval covered the three fingers of her right hand, which lay cradled in Simon's palm. She watched him treat her wounds carefully before trying to pick the acid out of her fingers.

"Be careful with her, Simon!" Brittany warned, hovering over him like a hawk, pointing out his every move. Simon ignored her, focused on Jeanette's burns.

"I don't feel a thing," Jeanette assured her sister, watching in awe as Simon worked quickly but gently, as if she were of fragile glass.

"Does that hurt, Jean?" He asked her quietly after a few minutes as he looked up from her hand. To her embarrassment, she blushed, looking away at the brown tiles of the lab floor.

"No," she replied. "Doesn't hurt at all. Thanks...you really don't have to do this."

"We learned advanced first aid in the science camp I went to last summer," he answered, turning back to her hand. "Covered stuff like this, chemical burns and all that. The teacher went to go get the nurse. I'm more concerned about your head though," he continued, pulling off one glove and turning her head softly with a hand to her cheek, looking at the back of her head.

Jeanette's cheeks flamed again at the simple gesture, though she couldn't wrap her head around why. Simon was one of her best friends; why was she freaking out every time he looked her way?

"It's just a pretty big goose-egg, but I'd keep an eye on it. Eleanor," he turned to Jeanette's younger sister, who was sitting with Theodore on top of the lab table, "Make sure she doesn't fall asleep at random intervals when you get home today. Tonight she should be fine, but I don't want her falling asleep if she has a concussion. You hit your head pretty hard," he said, turning back to Jeanette's hand as he spoke to her. "That was a pretty nasty explosion. It's all my fault, I must've gotten the ammonia confused with the water solution." He looked up at her, his solemn blue eyes meeting hers. "I'm so sorry, Jeanette."

"No, no, I think I actually added too much salt earlier. It could've been both our faults," she assured him. "Hey, at least we got a reaction, huh?"

He snorted at her remark quietly and nodded as he grabbed a piece of the acid with his tweezers; "I just wish you didn't have to catch the brunt of it. This is gonna hurt just a little," he warned, squeezing her wrist before he pulled off the dead skin. He gritted his teeth as blood began to leak across her palm and pressed a cloth gently to the spot, dabbing peroxide on softly.

She took note of the way he asked several times in a quieter tone if he was hurting her, all of which she answered no to, even if she was starting to feel the tug of the tweezers. She flinched once as he hit a spot between her fingers, and he flew into apologies.

She smiled timidly as she calmed him down, assuring her that she was indeed fine and that he was doing a great job.

As she turned her head, she felt something brush the skin of her neck. She looked down at her chest to find both oversized apron and hair ribbon gone.

"What happened to my...?"

"I put your ribbon back in your hair. I figured you'd be missing it," Simon answered, not looking up from the palm of her hand.

"Thanks," she replied quietly, as she focused her eyes on her glasses sliding down her nose that she couldn't push back into place. Fourteen and still had glasses. Even her classmates from middle school who once had glasses now sported chic new contacts. Jeanette had come to accept the fact that she would never make it past the awkward teenager stage, what with her flat chest, messy complexion, and bespectacled eyes.

She saw a gloved finger touch the bridge of her nose to push them back into place.

"Annoying, huh?" Simon asked her as he went back to work. "I hate my glasses sometimes when my hands are full."

"You wouldn't be you without them though," Jeanette blurted out suddenly, regretting her words instantly.

Simon seemed to ponder them for a second before replying, "Yeah, I guess not. I don't think you would be either though."

The thought warmed Jeanette's heart as she watched Simon pull her hand closer to his face, his brow pulling together and his nose scrunching up. She leaned her head back against the table a little too hard, as she flinched when it came into contact with her bruised head.

Simon flew into apologies again as she explained herself, smiling at his concern.

How lucky was she to have a friend like him?

_A/N: I know, short and sweet. But there will probably be another chapter up tonight! R&R!_


	3. The Cloud

_A/N: These are my little additions/subplots. Don't worry, I have one for Alvin and Britney, but I wanted to make it just right. Tell me what you think! Sorry I posted "The Glove" twice, thank you starbin21 for telling me! I knew I should have checked the Live Preview before I went to bed. R&R!_

**"Is there no pity sitting in the clouds****  
****That sees into the bottom of my grief?"**

Theodore mulled over the delectable treats he had packed in his lunchbox for today's meal as he sat down at the table he shared with his brothers, Simon and Alvin, and their friends, the Chipettes. In the past two months, one of the six had been missing from their table, much to Theodore's hidden dismay. Most thought of him as soft and easy to read, though he hidden his disgust in Eleanor's new boyfriend from his family.

During their second semester as freshmen in high school, Theodore began to realize he was not the only one who saw Eleanor as a figure of beauty. Like most of the girls her age, she had blossomed from chunky middle schooler to curvy, athletic teenager, and her fellow jocks had taken notice. Matthew Owens was first up to bat. He played football, basketball, and baseball; all sports that Theodore had never partaken in. He and Eleanor still remained very close, though Theodore had never taken the great leap from friendship to relationship that he always daydreamed about. He just wasn't what Ellie looked for, he gathered.

Apparently Matthew was.

The thought made his stomach burn as he saw his best friend breeze into the cafeteria. He saw her blonde curls spring as she walked, though they seemed to lack some of their luster today. Theodore looked around for the bungling oaf of a jock that Eleanor was usually found near. He jogged in a few steps behind her as she stood in the cafeteria line, and grabbed her arm as he walked up. Theodore felt his fists clench as she whirled on him, holding her own. He couldn't hear her words over the roar of the cafeteria, but he could see her angry red cheeks and the ferocity of the words her pretty little mouth formed as she fired them at Matthew. She pushed past him, walking toward the tables. Theodore pretended to take interest in his food, sneaking a look at Eleanor to see where she would sit today; she usually sat with the jocks and Matthew near the windows. But as he looked up to catch a glance at her face, he saw something his heart couldn't handle: silent tears ran down her full cheeks as she brushed past her classmates to Theodore's table. She slid into a chair across from him, silently placing her face in her hands.

"I know I've betrayed you guys for awhile, but do you mind if I sit here?" She asked in a barely-audible voice. Theodore's hands shook; he hated to see any female cry, even Miss Miller. But Eleanor was a totally different story. Before he knew it, he was in the chair beside her, blurting out, "What did he do, Ellie?"

She peeked her red eyes up at him from between the cracks in her fingers. "Nothing," she squeaked.

Theodore narrowed his eyes at her.

"H-h-he cheated on me," she sobbed quietly into her hands as Theodore's testosterone raged deep in his chest. He swallowed it down with difficulty.

"W-with Skylar Swinson, the captain of the cheerleading squad. H-h-he said that..." she took a deep breath before sobbing harder into her hands. Theodore pulled her delicate face against his shoulder, not caring if she soaked his shirt.

"He said what, Ellie?"

She shook her head again, keeping quiet.

"Come on, Ellie, you can tell me."

She kept mum, but her tears were nothing but fuel to Theodore's fire.

"Eleanor, tell me what that asshole said to you!"

Her head snapped up from his shoulder, her quiet sobs stopping momentarily. "Theodore."

He took a deep breath, leaning closer to her and spoke more quietly, "I'm sorry, Ellie. But I can't just sit here and see you cry without...getting worked up, for lack of a better word, as Alvin would say. Now come on, what did he say to you?"

"It's embarrassing, Theodore."

"It's me. C'mon, you can tell me anything. Here, eat some of this," he coaxed, pulling his lunch out and sliding a small Tupperware container in front of her. "Green bean casserole, your favorite."

"Mmmmm, Theodore! Yours is my favorite," she added, grabbing a fork. Theodore's heart lifted instantly at the hint of brightness returning to her eyes.

However, she took one look at the food and her eyes fell. "He told me...he told me I was too fat," she finished in a whisper.

"He told you what?!" Theodore's voice raged so loudly that several tables stopped talking to turn and look. He felt the blood rush to his face and heard his heartbeat pound so loudly in his ears it was almost painful. Eleanor grabbed his hand, worried at the biting expression on his face. "Theodore..."

-----

From across the room, Jeanette stood in line with Simon, who was still glancing at her bandaged hands every few minutes.

"Was that Theodore?"

"Sounded like it," Simon answered, craning his neck over the mass of students mulling around in the cafeteria. "Hey, Eleanor's sitting with us today."

"What? She must be fighting with Matthew." Jeanette peered over at where her sister sat talking to Theodore.

"Well, that's obvious, Theodore looks ready to kill," Simon replied with a chuckle.

"Oh, no way. Theodore wouldn't hurt a fly," Jeanette eyed Simon suspiciously.

He laughed as the line moved forward. "He would for Eleanor. He hates that guy."

"Seriously?" Her delicate brows knitted together in a way that made Simon blink a few times before answering.

Simon smirked as he polished his glasses on his shirt. "I think Theodore thinks no one notices, and surely Alvin doesn't, but I've caught him watching the guy from time to time, and it's not with kind eyes."

"Wow," Jeanette replied, looking off into the distance as she pushed her glasses up on her nose. "I mean it makes sense, you know. I just never put two and two together, I guess."

_A/N: Jealous Theodore? Preposterous! _


	4. Tempt Not a Desperate Man

_**A/N: **__Sorry it's taking me so long to update, everyone. I just started a new University, and it's taken me some time to get used to my new place, classes, etc. Plus, this was a big part, and I wanted to make it just right. Thanks for all my beautiful reviews, thank you all for reading! I'll keep up with the next chapter; enjoy!_

"**Tempt not a Desperate Man"**

Act V, Scene III

-

As the two made their way through the lunch line, Britney Miller made her entrance into the cafeteria, flipping her hair back into the face of an innocent bystander.

Oh well, I'm sure his day was made better by the touch of my hair, she thought with a smile as--

"Britney! Watch where you're throwing yourself. I can only stand so much of you on an empty stomach, my dear." Alvin pushed her along into the crowd with a wink and a grin, their group of friends meshing together behind them. "Wait until after I've had lunch."

She rolled her eyes, pushing past Alvin to take her place in line in front of him. She heard his familiar "Hmmph!" as she tapped her foot impatiently; why couldn't there be an express lane in this cafeteria? She was just getting water and a salad, for Pete's sake.

She was glancing at her other classmates around the classroom when a deep voice in front of her caught Britney's attention.

"Well hello there, beautiful lady."

She blinked, looking up at Chace Hughes, athletic star and overall total Crashcup hottie. Britney put on her prettiest trademark smile as she pushed her shoulders back and raised her chin, cocking one hip to the side.

"Hello yourself, sweetie. What brings you in front of me in the lunch line today?" She batted her eyelashes like a pro.

Behind her, Alvin rolled his eyes, watching Britney let some jock put the moves on her. She was so gullible sometimes. However, after hearing the schmuck shoot lines at her, Alvin realized they started to sound like his own.

He peeped his head around Britney to see none other than Chace Hughes, his rival and worst enemy, putting the moves on his best friend. Both Alvin and Chace were quarterbacks on the Crashcup Cougars football team, and both were stars. However, they never accepted to be played at any other position besides quarterback, so they were at constant war of who would start and play the most. Besides football, Chace and Alvin also competed for Center in basketball, and Pitcher in baseball. And of course, Chace was instant competition for all of Alvin's girlfriends. It seemed as though if Alvin broke up with one girl, she was with Chace the next week, and vice versa.

Alvin refused to watch Britney go through the ringer with Chace. This was one girl Chace would _never_ get his hands on.

---

"Britney! _Britney!"_ Someone tugged on Britney's arm, pulling her dreamy gaze away from Chace. "Hey, look at me!"

She turned around to face Alvin. "You again! What do you want now? Can't you see I'm _busy_?" She jerked her thumb over her shoulder at Chace.

Expecting to hear a smart remark from Alvin, Britney was surprised at his genuine expression. "Sorry Britney, but Jeanette said Eleanor was in tears at the lunch table. Something happened with—"

"Matthew. That jerk. Oh, if he hurt my sister I swear—" She stared over at the table, now noticing Ellie's face hidden against Theodore's shoulder.

"Go ahead. I'll get your lunch. Salad with Fat Free Ranch, right?" Alvin pressed a hand to her back, guiding her out of the line.

Surprised at his offer and that he remembered her lunch, Britney gave her best friend a small smile. "You sure, I have money—" She started to reach into her purse.

"Go, Brit. I got it." He winked at her as she flipped her ponytail over her shoulder, stalking over to the lunch table.

He turned on his heel, pushed past Chace Hughes with a smirk and jumped through the line, yelling about a diabetic emergency as he grabbed pizza and a salad.

---

Back at the lunch table, Jeanette brushed Eleanor's blonde hair with her bandaged hand as she sobbed into Theodore's green shirt. She glanced over at Simon, who was trying to convince her to eat something, but she couldn't. Her stomach was in knots. Eleanor was the motherly figure of the group, and whenever she was sad, everyone's spirits were down. She looked up at the sound of her sister's pink heels hitting the tiled floor with ferocity.

"Where is he? Where is that asshole?" Britney stood in front of the five of them, her hands on her hips in her famous stance.

Jeanette peered up at her older sister, holding back a smile at her take-charge attitude. Britney may always yearn to be in the center of attention, but when someone hurt one of her sisters, she was out for blood.

Blonde mop tousled to perfection, Matthew loped up to the table. "Elle, baby…"

Britney twirled on one heel, coming almost nose-to-nose with Matthew, but not quite. "There's no one for you to 'Baby' at this table, jackass," she spat, walking forward so that he stepped back, obviously intimidated.

Eleanor looked up from Theodore's shoulder, wiping tears out of her golden hazel eyes. "Brit, don't. I-I can handle this."

"I know you can, Eleanor. But I'm handling it for you. You've been handling a little too much of this for too long now," Britney replied, her eyes still boring into Matthew. "You sorry piece of shit; my little sister is nothing but gold and you do this? I knew you were a shithead from the beginning, but I didn't think you could stoop this low."

Alvin came up to the table, taking in Eleanor's bloodshot and tear-filled eyes and his little brother's seething expression that no one else seemed to notice. He had always suspected Theodore liked Eleanor, but he had never noticed it until now. If Eleanor hadn't been sitting almost in his lap, Alvin thought Theodore would probably have killed the jerkwad by now.

"Look honey, just let me talk to her," Matthew replied smoothly, trying to push back Britney, who refused to budge.

"I don't think you heard me. I said _leave_. Go sit with your little blonde slut."

"I said _move_, bitch," Matthew snapped, pushing Britney out of the way. She toppled over off her heels as Matthew slapped Jeanette's burned hands off of Eleanor and grabbed her arm, beginning to snatch her up. "Come on, Elle."

All three boys were on top of Matthew before he could blink, pinning him to the grimy cafeteria floor and pummeling him until he blacked out.

The first punch was Theodore's.

_**A/N: **__Ouch. Everyone loves a little big-headed jock beat-down. I know, Theodore nor Simon would ever get in a fight, but come on, I think the guy crossed the line a bit, don't you? R&R!_


	5. Without Fear or Doubt

_**A/N: **__I know this may seem fairly short, but it's jam-packed, and I just spit it all out in between classes. I'm now an English double major, so pray that one day I may be doing this for a living! For now, keep reading, and tell me what you think!_

"**Or bid me go into a new-made grave,**

**And hide me with a dead man in his shroud-**

**Things that, to hear them told, have made me tremble-**

**And I will do it without fear or doubt,**

**To live an unstain'd life to my sweet love."**

_Scene IV, Act I_

The six chipmunks sat alongside each other outside the principal's office like criminals on death row. By now, Dave and Miss Miller had probably been called, while Matthew and two of his friends who had jumped in to help him sat down the hall on another bench, nursing their own wounds.

Eleanor chewed on her lip, looking at the three boys who had just jumped a guy for her. Alvin she expected, since he was a typical hot-headed boy, but mainly because Matthew had pushed Britney over trying to get to her. Simon, well, the only time she'd ever seen him fight was with Alvin. But Theodore, her sweet, caring best friend, fighting? Seething mad, as he was now? She glanced out of the corner of her eye at him as he tried to control his breathing while holding a wad of gauze to his nose, which was smashed open. It was more than she could handle. She felt vulnerable, ashamed, but most of all, ironically, loved. She knew Britney and even Jeanette would stand up for her, but seeing all three boys pushing Matthew off her filled her with a sense of the family she always had but had never recognized. And Theodore, well, she had so many feelings about him it made her already aching head ascend to a slow throb.

Beside her, Theodore kept a rag under his bloody nose as he tried to take deep breaths to calm himself down. Once he got mad, he stayed mad for hours. And talking to the principal was not going to help. He couldn't think about anything, because everything made his thoughts flash back to Eleanor's tear-filled eyes and hurt expression when that dick came close to her. Thoughts that made him want to tear down to the other end of the hallway and wail on that guy some more. But her same golden eyes glanced over at him, and he jerked his face away from her as they sent his adrenaline pumping again. He had to calm down. Don't think about her. Just breathe...

Alvin leaned his head back against the glass of the office behind him, sucking on the ice the nurse had given him for his busted lip. With one hand, he held an ice pack to his black eye, not even wincing at the pain. He had had his share of black eyes, but this one had more meaning. He looked over at Britney, who had placed her heels under the bench and had gathered her slender legs up to her chest, curling her body in a ball. The moment Matthew's hand had made contact with her shoulder, he had been on his feet, not even able to watch her hit the ground. Which was weird, he and Britney had shoved each other around all the time as kids. He had watched other guys push girls out of the way, and though he may have stood up for them or thought it wasn't right, he had never, in his entire life, felt this ball of fire attacking his heart and flinging his body at her attacker as he had just now. The combination of making Eleanor cry, brandishing Jeanette's already tattered hands, and then knocking Britney down created a wave of such intense anger he had almost exploded into smithereens. Alvin knew he was a hot-head, and he recognized that he had his records of tantrums, but this was a whole new level. And his brothers shared it with him. The first face he saw beside him was Simon's, and whose eyes he swore were red with rage. If Simon was fighting with anyone besides Alvin, there was trouble. But Alvin couldn't get his good eye off of the pink ball beside him, her attitude gone and her expression somber. For a second, he wished he could pull any charm in his book to coax her thoughts out in the open for him to hear.

Britney rocked back on the bench to hug her legs tighter to her body while she studied the tiles on the hallway floor to avoid looking at Alvin's bloody face. Bruises and blood sacrificed for her. The moment her hands hit the floor, the first thing she looked up at was Alvin's snarling face. Now granted, she had seen that face form into many different emotions. There was his charming smile, his genuine smile, his conniving smile, his begging face, his brutal laughter, his genuine laughter, and his temper tantrum face, just to name the everyday. Each and every one seemed to ignite her emotions, whether they be good or bad; some enraged her, while others made her float higher than the heavens. But the face that she had just seen was new, and the thought that his almost jealous, protective rage had come out for her was enough to make her hold tears back. Her own jealousy was one thing, but Alvin's was almost more than she could bear.

Beside Britney, Simon looked under the crack of his glasses at the two bandaged hands in his lap; one belonged to Jeanette and the other to him. Either broken or bruised, Simon didn't care about the condition of his knuckles as long as he could still grip things, such as a pencil, beaker, and for now, Jeanette's hand, which he had inspected for the fourth time. In his head, he could hear her sharp intake of breath and shriek of pain that she had tried desperately to hide over and over again as he replayed the events of the fight. Though he was worried about her injuries, he focused on the white bandage to keep his mind off of his anger, which was still coursing through his bloodstream even now. Family was family, and he'd stand up for any of the Chipettes and his brothers any day, but hearing Jeanette's expression of pain set his whole body afire. Like a contained explosion, the heat of his anger flamed up to his face over and over again as he continuously tried to calm down. Why was he so protective all of a sudden? Jeanette was not exactly a damsel in distress; she'd leave that to her sister. She never asked for help, let alone a white knight. But Simon couldn't help himself. Every time someone crossed the line that only he knew she had, the line where her feelings were hurt, yet she would never defend her own self, he came out fighting. Whether those things were harmful chemicals or an ogre like Matthew, he couldn't help himself. He knew he should be thinking about the fact that Harvard wouldn't look to kindly on the fact that he was about to be suspended for at least three days, but instead he couldn't stop looking over the crack in the glass standing between him and Jeanette.

Perched on the end of the bench, Jeanette tried to ignore her own emotions which coursed through her body at the moment. The more physical was the pain in her hands, though Simon's touch was soothing and made it easier to deal with, more so than any pill or ointment would ever be able to. But inside, her emotions ranged from nervous, to angered, to loved, to lightheaded. Some may have been from the painkillers the nurse had just popped her with, and others may have been triggered by her recent head injury, but the majority came from the boy sitting beside her who could transition from being strong and angry, to gentle and concerned within mere minutes. She took in the crack in his glasses that ran along his blue irises, dark with emotion. Matthew had merely whacked her hand and Simon stood snarling beside his brother, his growing muscles making themselves present through his blue teeshirt. Simon still stood taller than his brother, but as the two threw their shoulders back, Jeanette had notice for a brief second that Simon wasn't the lanky stick he used to be when they were kids. And through his body language she saw such anger, such protective rage, it made her put a hand to her head, which had been through enough for one day. Simon, standing up for her? It was one thing for him to dote over her injuries, he would probably have done that for any one of the chipmunks, but jumping into a fight, something that could jeopardize his record, just over a slap to her hands? She looked down the row at her sisters, and saw her own emotions reflected on their faces. Where the boys fighting for them like sisters, or was it something entirely different? And how did they feel about that?

"Seville!" Mrs. Milliken called out of her office, breaking everyone's trains of thought. All the chipmunks turned in her direction. Her voice was beginning to sound as familiar as Dave's.

Alvin sighed, turning his cap around backwards as he stood up, looking beside him at his brother. He clutched the ice pack in one hand and spit blood and ice into the cup in his other. "Come on, boys. Let's get this over with."

_**A/N: **__Emotions, emotions! By the way, the backward cap in the last two lines is dedicated to ABSJFan, from her fic "Truth or Dare." R&R!_


	6. A Greater Power

_**A/N: **__Sorry again for the wait, it was hard for me to connect the last chapter to the middle of this one. The first couple of paragraphs are weak, I apologize in advance for that. I've had the next couple of chapters written and ready to publish for awhile now, but I just hit a writer's block with how to connect them. So the next few updates should come very quickly. This is where it all really begins, so R&R!_

"**A greater power than we can contradict**

**Hath thwarted our intents."**

_Act V, Scene III_

Hearing both sides of the story, the Chipmunks miraculously were sent off with a slap on the wrist, seeing that the only person involved with a record was Alvin, who was only suspended from football practice for the day. Life went on normally, as Britney and Alvin went off to Advanced PE, Theodore and Eleanor retired to Culinary Arts II, and Jeanette began to head off to her Advanced Literature Studies class. Before she could leave, Simon grabbed her arm, making Jeanette's skin tingle.

"Do you want me to stop by the Biology lab and ask the teacher if we can make up that experiment?"

"Sure," she nodded, smiling at the fact that he had been so careful to avoid her bandaged hands.

"Just come by my house after school; we can work on it together."

"Sounds great. Oh, but I have to stop by Blockbuster on the way home first to return some movies for Britney," Jeanette replied, suddenly remembering the DVDs in her backpack.

Simon chuckled softly; no matter how old they got, Britney could always talk Jeanette into doing something for her. "That's fine," he continued, squeezing her arm lightly as he left. "I'll see you then. Be careful with your hands."

She felt an odd flutter in her heart at both his considerate compassion and his genuine smile. Both were fighting for space in Jeanette's heart as she almost floated to class.

---

Later, Jeanette climbed up the brick steps in front of the Seville house, thankful that Eleanor had offered to take the DVDs back for her. Now she wouldn't leave Simon waiting. Jeanette knocked softly on the hard wood of the Seville's front door, then remembered that no matter how old she got, it would never be a quiet house. So instead, she turned her fist and banged on the door instead of knocking. After much rustling, yelling, and clashing, Dave opened the door, looking surprised to see a female standing on their front steps.

"Well, hello there, Jeanette." He rubbed a hand over his day-old shadow. "Do come in. You're looking for Simon?"

"Yes, sir. He wanted to go over the experiment we...ah...performed incorrectly in class today."

"Oh yeah, Dave! I forgot to tell you, Jeanette and Simon blew up something today! And we totally weren't supposed to!" Alvin called from the living room.

Dave shook his head and chuckled, "Yeah, Simon seemed a little worked up about your hands, Jeanette. How are they doing?"

She held out her hands, which were almost entirely covered in white bandage. "They're better. Simon's a good doctor."

"Isn't that the truth. He's down in the lab. You remember where it is, right?"

She nodded, crossing the living room and heading down the stairs toward Simon's basement lab. It was his retreat underground, and as they'd grown up together, she almost felt as though it was her retreat from time to time as well.

But just before her hand grabbed the knob to push the old gray door open, she heard faint notes coming from inside the concrete sanctuary.

When the girls first met the Chipmunks, they were young, and they became popular--like the Chipettes--for their voices. However, as they got older, they began to branch apart in their interests. Alvin still yearned for the spotlight, whereas Simon and Theodore wanted to fall back into the shadows of their own lives. Much like Jeanette and her sister, Eleanor. Britney, not any different from Alvin, wanted nothing more than the center stage spotlight and a thousand fans screaming her name.

Jeanette thought back to their childhood, growing up in and out of the spotlight, as she listened to the notes drifting from Simon's guitar under the door and into her head. He didn't sing, just some quiet humming as his deep baritone voice kept up with the music. She sat back on the steps, letting herself unwind to the unusual sides of Simon that she enjoyed unintentionally uncovering, such as this one. She knew he played bass from time to time for the band, but guitar was something she didn't expect from Simon. Maybe Alvin, but definitely not Simon.

The unfamiliar notes began to come together as she recognized Paul McCartney's "Baby, I'm Amazed."

She mouthed the words to herself as she wrapped her arms around her skinny legs, letting the guitar and Simon's strong voice humming the notes envelope her in a cocoon of warmth. She wanted to see his slender fingers sliding expertly up the neck of the guitar, dancing from fret to fret as she knew they would be.

If Simon did something, he did it all the way. He was always prepared, always good, always on top of the situation. Jeanette took an odd comfort in that that she couldn't quite explain. So for the moment, she let herself enjoy the song.

Instead of waiting until he stopped, she decided to reveal herself as the song came to a close. She couldn't stand to miss a minute of it; the song was one of her personal favorites. She pressed her hand against the door and softly pushed, hoping to sneak in before saying anything. She caught a glance of Simon, crouched around his guitar, as if it were part of his body, helping his heart beat and his lungs expand with air. Unfortunately, Jeanette's vision stopped with the unearthly loud creaking of the door hinge as she entered the room.

Simon's head popped up so quickly his glasses flew off his face and clattered to his feet, which in turn caused Jeanette to jump, her materials scattering over the concrete floor.

"Jeanette! You ah, startled me," Simon stuttered, sweeping a hand around the floor for the lost glasses. Jeanette placed them back on his face as calmly as possible, retrieving them from amongst the papers covering the floor. She thought back to today's events and the gentleness of his touch as he had placed her own glasses back in their place, bringing her back to the real world.

"I'm really, really sorry, Simon--"

"How long were you there?" He demanded, his face suddenly hardening in a way Jeanette had never seen it before.

"Maybe ten minutes or so..." she replied, slightly confused.

"Ten minutes?! So you just sat there and eavesdropped on me for ten minutes in my own room? I mean, this is the only place in the house that's truly mine, you know that, don't you? The sign on the door doesn't only apply to Alvin."

The words were such a slap that she actually took a physical step back; Simon had never looked at her like this. They were best friends, and he had always treated her as if his things were hers, and she did the same for him.

"I...I didn't mean to eavesdrop on you, Simon. I was just really enjoying the song, and I don't think I've ever heard you play the guitar before and---"

"You don't have the right to hang around outside my private property and listen in on whatever you like. Nobody listens to me while I'm playing this for a damn good reason. It's my personal business who I let listen to my music, which is no one. That includes you, Jeanette." He turned his back to her, laying the guitar back into its case quickly.

"Now if you don't mind---"

"I-I can show myself the door, thank you." Jeanette, biting her lip to hold in the tears threatening to flood her cheeks, turned on her heel and dashed up the concrete stairs.

Unfortunately, a dark tunnel closed off her tear-clouded vision and toppled her back down the concrete stairs before she could ever climb out of Simon's stairwell.

_**A/N: **__So the suspense begins… :) R&R!_


	7. Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow

_**A/N: **__Not much to say, but the next chapters are going to come together fairly quickly. Let me know what you think!_

"**Good night! Good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow,**

**That I shall say good night 'til it be 'morrow."**

_Act II, Scene II_

Simon felt his cheeks burning so hot he wondered vaguely if they would blister his skin, though not from anger. Rather, from sheer embarrassment. Simon Seville prided himself in keeping his private wants and desires far, far away from his family, friends, and the outside world. The fact that another person, especially Jeanette, had breached that gap had thrown him for a loop.

When the Chipmunks met the Chipettes, they were both singing groups, not bands. But as they got older, the boys were picking up more instruments, while the girls became more developed in their vocals. As a result, they had begun playing together, with Alvin on guitar, Simon on bass, and Theodore on drums. Alvin and Britney fought for the spotlight in the role of singing lead, and Jeanette and Eleanor sang backup vocals. Simon and Theodore helped them occasionally, but most often forgot that Simon was developing into an instrumental artist instead of a vocal one. He had picked up one of the many guitars stowed in the Seville household about a year ago and taught himself how to play. He only liked others seeing a side of him that he was ready to show, and his newfound guitar-playing pastime was not one of them. As soon as he heard Jeanette shut the door just a little sharper than normal, he instantly regretted his tone with her. He began to pace around the room, debating on whether to run after her and apologize, or wait until they had both calmed down to invite her back over. She was his best friend, for Pete's sake. And lately she kept his attention more than normal, for a reason Simon refused to put his finger on. The softness of her hands, the brightness in her eyes as they peeked from behind her favorite faded novel; everything about her seemed to catch his eye, and she wasn't even trying.

Unfortunately, his thoughts were loudly interrupted by the sound of a body slamming against the closed basement door.

Simon flung the door open, and Jeanette's limp body rolled out, her glasses askew. As soon as he saw her unconscious expression and blank eyes, he knew exactly what had happened.

"Her head…" he muttered to himself, feeling his throat beginning to close already. His brain flashed through every medical journal he'd ever read, swirling around concussions and head trauma. He tried to swallow the growing lump in his throat as he checked Jeanette's entire body, starting at her feet. She seemed perfectly fine until he got to her head wound, the large bump forming on the crown of her head from today's accident. The term "Second-impact syndrome" flashed through Simon's head like a siren, a case in which a patient who has suffered from a concussion receives a second blow to the head before the swelling of the brain is allowed to go down. The term "often fatal complication" seemed to brand itself against the lining of Simon's brain as he looked down at his best friend's limp form. She must have fallen while climbing the stairs and hit her head on the steps or door, triggering the concussion.

He scooped Jeanette up immediately, cradling her head in his arms as if she were an infant. As he kicked the door open to ascend the steps, his brain began spinning its wheels. Jeanette's faithful pink-framed glasses were not lying at the top of the stairs where she would have fallen at. Instead, along with the papers and book she had held clutched in her hands, her glasses were on the last step of the staircase, as if Jeanette had never begun climbing them at all. She had no other bruises, no scrapes or gashes. There were no signs of another blow. Simon scooped up her glasses, pressed Jeanette tighter against him, and leaped up the steps.

---

"Dave! _DAVE_!"

Alvin heard Simon yelling over the blaring of his video game on the TV in the Seville living room. Simon never yelled, unless it was at Alvin.

Suddenly, the door leading from the basement staircase was flung open as Simon barged through the living room, Jeanette limp in his arms.

"Simon?! What happened to--?"

"Where's Dave?" Simon snapped, catching Alvin dead in the eyes. "I need to find him _now._"

"I think he went over to the Millers'. Simon, I—"

Simon was already out the door before Alvin could get a word in. He followed Simon out into the chilly March air, wishing he had grabbed a jacket as soon as the door snapped shut behind him. The girls lived two houses down, so it wasn't a long walk.

"Just tell me what happened to her, Simon." Alvin continued, almost running beside his brother to keep up with his brisk pace. This was so unlike Simon, it was blowing his mind.

"She fell. Hit her head, I'm not sure. She fell down the stairs."

"Coming down?"

"No," Simon snapped, even harsher this time. "Coming up. What does it matter to you anyways where she was going?" Simon rounded on him, almost nose to nose with his brother.

Alvin looked at Jeanette's body wrapped in Simon's arms. He was holding her so tightly against his chest, the strongest man alive wouldn't have stood a chance tearing her away.

Alvin took a deep breath, trying to subdue his temper for his brother's sake. "Calm down, Simon. I just asked. I knew she hadn't been down there for very long."

Simon turned on his heel, pushing the Millers' front door open. Eleanor and Theodore stood over the stove, fixing dinner. Dave was at the kitchen table, working on Ms. Miller's taxes.

"We need to take her to the hospital," Simon blurted out, holding Jeanette tighter to his chest. To Alvin's surprise, Simon's deep voice cracked before he could close his mouth again.

"Jeanette! What on earth?!" Ms. Miller rushed over to Jeanette, but Simon wasn't letting go of her.

"She fell and hit her head today at school, and something happened when she left the lab; she fell back down the stairs on her way out and…I…I'm not sure what happened." Simon never took his eyes off Jeanette as Alvin watched him searching her motionless body, as if looking for more damage done.

Something had happened down there; Jeanette and Simon usually stayed cooped up in that old basement for hours. Alvin was always surprised to find them genuinely working down there, never a hot-and-heavy moment between them. He and Britney had always figured there were mutual feelings stored away somewhere, though Simon and Jeanette were the only ones that didn't realize it. They were totally oblivious to each other's emotions. Though now, Alvin thought, Simon's were shining through.

---

In the ER waiting room, Simon tossed his glasses into his lap for the thousandth time, rubbing his bloodshot eyes against his palms, every time getting a whiff of Jeanette's smell. Whether it was her perfume, shampoo, or what have you, the smell was glued to his hands and chest from where he had held Jeanette's limp body cradled in his tight embrace for ten minutes to the latest hospital.

Theodore sat a few seats down from him, watching Eleanor as she knitted fervently next to him, trying to keep her hands busy. Miss Miller was outside in the hall, pacing back and forth as she slurped her fourth cup of coffee, which he was afraid to see the consequences of later. Dave sat quietly across from him, trying to meet Simon's gaze every few moments. But Simon avoided his eyes, not wanting to see the questions and pity hidden there. He was already trying to push the image of Jeanette's lifeless body scattered on the basement floor out of his mind.

But more importantly, he was trying to look around at anything he could keep his attention on, not only to pull his mind off of Jeanette, but to push aside the sentence from one of his many medical textbooks that was throbbing into his brain:

"_Concussion victims…trauma-induced coma can be triggered by high pressure situations or highly emotional situations….in Second-Impact Trauma victims…brain damage or even fatality from severe swelling of the brain…"_

His fault. This was all his fault. Before he knew it, Simon was leaping to his feet, pacing around the room like Miss Miller. He was trying so hard to control his speeding heart and labored breathing that he fled out of the room, slamming into the door to the stairwell and flying down it.

_**A/N: **__R&R!_


	8. Our Dancing Days

_**A/N: **__I forgot to add this in on the last chapter, but the reality of the concussion symptoms that I added in the story were purely researched through Wikipedia, and I did a little tweaking even then. So don't plan your life around them or anything. Thanks!_

"**For you and I are past our dancing days."**

_Act I, Scene V_

Back at the Miller house, Alvin sat on the front porch steps, waiting for Britney to get home from cheerleading practice. He decided to stay back to tell her about Jeanette, since he knew he would be able to handle whatever emotional outburst Britney would have to offer. As he heard the crackle of gravel on the road in front of him, he looked up as Britney stepped out of Rebecca Fischer's red convertible, throwing her duffel bag over her shoulder. She froze when she saw Alvin, as if she already knew something was wrong.

Alvin slid past Britney smoothly, the famous smile curving across his face easily that never reached his eyes. He leaned against the gleaming door of the Corvette, wrapping the cheerleader up in his lines.

"Becca, sweetheart, you wouldn't mind running Britney and I just up the street to the hospital would you? It's really important." He flashed his teeth at her and she was gone.

"Oh, of course, Alvin. You can ride shotgun," she cooed, patting the tan leather beside her.

Wrinkling her nose, Britney turned to head into the house. "I'm going to change."

"Wait!" Alvin ran after her, grabbing her arm before she pushed the front door open. "It's Jeanette. She was over at our place, working downstairs with Simon. He ran through the living room with her in his arms; she's been unconscious ever since. He won't say a word; I don't know what happened. They took her to the hospital, but I didn't want you to have to hear it from a Post-It on the counter."

While all she wanted to do was slam the front door in his face for flirting with Rebecca for a ride, the tears of fear that were working their way toward the edges of Britney's eyes threatened to spill over at Alvin's random act of kindness. He had stayed behind, waited here at her house for God only knows how long, just to ride with her to the hospital. She didn't know if she could handle so many different emotions thrown together in one day. Besides, they had to get a ride somehow. All of this on top of the fact that something was wrong with Jeanette and she couldn't do anything about it; Britney could do nothing but pitifully push the corners of her mouth up and turn inside the house.

"Brit---"

She looked over her should briefly. "Yes, Alvin?"

"You sure you're okay?"

"I'll be right down," she replied, jogging up the stairs.

---

She was halfway up the stairs when Britney pressed her face into the sleeve of her sweatshirt, trying to swallow the sobs creeping up her throat. She pushed the door open to the bedroom she shared with her sisters, throwing the red cheerleading bag onto her bed. She threw off her shirt and put on a pink top, pulling her auburn hair out of its messy ponytail. She stared into her own green eyes through the mirror, focusing on the wet tears rimming them. She rammed her forehead into the mirror, burying her face in her hands as the sobs won, bubbling up out of her throat and spilling all over the room, her ragged voice echoing against the walls that were empty of the people she loved.

Until the door creaked slowly open.

"Hey, Brit?"

ALVIN! She could never let him see her like this, she was a mess. Britney drew a ragged breath, trying hard to pull herself together as she raked her fingers under her eyes, knowing puddles of black mascara underneath them would give her away. "Go away, I'm ch-changing, A-A-Al…"

He walked toward her slowly, pulling his hands out of his pockets as he spoke softly.

"Hey, hey, hey…what's with the tears?"

He wasn't like Theodore, who crumbled when a girl cried. He wasn't like Simon, who charged into the situation like a white knight at the first tear. No, Alvin just gathered her into his arms, which felt stronger than she expected. Like a weeping child, he supported her body with one hand while rubbing her back with the other. She finally let go of holding back the tears and bawled into his shoulder as he held her tightly against his chest.

She cried about her sister, and the fact that she was hurt, in a situation Britney couldn't get her out of. She cried for the fact that she was already upset and didn't even know all the details about Jeanette, yet she couldn't hold the tears in. She cried for what had happened today in the cafeteria, and the fact that the boys had to rescue her little sister because she obviously couldn't. Not only that, but they almost got suspended for the sake of she and her sisters, even Simon. But most of all, she cried because the boy holding her up was seeing her at her weakest point, and he was the only person she wanted to run to. She wanted him to hold her forever and never let go. And the feeling scared the shit out of her. So Britney wrapped her legs around Alvin's waist as he sat down on her bed; she held on like he was her last breath of air.

As she finally calmed down, she sucked in air in small gasps, pulling her head away from Alvin's shoulder in embarrassment as she wiped at her eyes. To her surprise, he grabbed her wrists gently, placing them at her sides as he stared into her eyes, not the dark rings underneath them.

"You wanna talk about it?" He whispered, his warm breath blowing gently on her lips as she felt her heart rising to her throat, pounding in her ears.

She shook her head as the remaining tears trickled down her cheeks, and Alvin's rough fingers wiped them away as his thumb slid along the line of her jaw.

Before either one could think, their lips met.

Alvin's hand ran up Britney's back, fisting in her loose hair, while Britney's legs tightened around Alvin's waist as she hugged him tighter against her. The kiss rocked their world, and seconds seemed like hours as their senses spiraled upward into oblivion.

As the two broke apart and realization hit, Britney leaped off of Alvin's lap, snatching up her clothes and fleeing down the stairs. She hid in the laundry room to finish changing.

Britney threw her shorts off and pulled her skirt and leggings on as she tried to calm her speeding heart. Never before had she ever felt the fire in her heart that she had just felt from the ten second kiss with Alvin. Britney had kissed her share of guys. But this, this one tiny kiss, even if she never had another from him, would be one she'd remember forever. She pulled her wavy hair into its traditional ponytail, remembering Alvin's gentle but firm grip in her hair. What had just happened terrified her so much she was shaking as she pulled her shoes on. Alvin was on the top of her list; the one she hated to admit that she wanted to end up with. She pushed the thought, the dream, the ache in her heart to the side as she pushed the laundry room door open, tossing her ponytail over her shoulder.

Alvin stood by the door, waiting silently as she walked out of the laundry room. He walked out the front door and headed for the car as she locked up the house. As she memorized his face, it almost brought on a fresh wave of tears again. Because not only was he there when she broke down, she knew that if she never brought it up again—the tears, the embrace, the kiss—he would pretend like it never happened.

He understood her so well it scared her.

_**A/N: **__R&R!_


	9. Day's Black Fate

_**A/C: **__Sorry this took so long. I had an awful bout of writer's block, and this is really just a transition chapter. Big things are to come. And for anyone reading "A Wicked Performance," thank you! My next chapter is coming soon; there's just so much to do! R&R!_

"**This day's black fate on more days doth depend:**

**This but begins the woe others must end."**

Act III, Scene I

Simon sat outside the hospital under a small gazebo, his glassed pushed up and his head between his hands. He replayed the words that had come spewing out of his mouth, Jeanette's confused and hurt expression as she backed away from him, and finally the sickening sound of her back hitting the closed door as her unconscious body had tumbled down the concrete steps.

She was his best friend, his counterpart, and from time to time, his confidante. Jeanette was his equal, and he had always felt so lucky to have someone so much like him around in his life. Why couldn't she listen to him play the guitar? If he remembered correctly, part of the reason he was learning the song was because it was one of her favorites.

His body physically ached with pain. His eyes, his joints, his head, and especially the throbbing lump in his heart that continued to creep its way up into his throat. This was more than worry for a friend, this was more than guilt for hurting her feelings; it was so much bigger than that.

Suddenly, it hit Simon like a ton of bricks. He loved Jeanette. He loved her more than he had ever loved anyone else. It was different from his love for Dave or his brothers, different from the caring compassion he felt for Britney and Eleanor. He had had a few crushes on girls in the past, but now he realized he had always been drawn back to Jeanette's side without even noticing it.

All she'd been trying to do was get close to him, and he pushed her away. Pushed her right on out the door and into a coma. The lump in Simon's throat crept steadily upward, and it was all he could do to swallow it back down.

When it came to dealing with Alvin or Britney, he was sarcastic, frustrated, and sometimes authoritative. He pulled them out of the binds they put themselves in, and helped to keep them out of trouble and out of failing through high school. He loved them dearly, even though they made him want to tear his hair out from time to time.

As for Theodore and Eleanor, they kept him optimistic with their outlook on life, yet laughing at their brief bouts of naivety. Mainly in Theodore's case, he pushed him to be confident, just as he had been willing to shine a flashlight under their beds when the boys were small, banishing away fears of the Boogieman.

But Jeanette was so different. She challenged his most proven hypotheses with a simple word; one complete thought that was so deep he had missed it entirely. She was so well-rounded in her school subjects and interests that he couldn't help but open his mind and dig into the world with open arms. She was always willing to do a good deed, whether that be to lend an idea, help with a project, run an errand, or to just be a companion. Jeanette was undoubtedly the most open person when it came to others, yet her inner workings were like the greatest equation Simon had ever been given to formulate. She had the one smile that could pass the Earth closest to the Sun on its orbit at any given hour.

And now the Sun had faded, just like her smile. Simon pushed to his feet. Bringing the Sun back would not be accomplished by merely sitting in the dark. He walked toward the entrance of the hospital, a slightly lighter step in his stride.

--

A buzzing in Theodore's pocket pulled him out of the slumber he had slipped into in the hospital waiting room. He pulled out his cell phone, looking over at a sleeping Eleanor, who was curled up in a ball beside him. They had hardly spoken all day; he just couldn't look her in the eyes. Every time he did he saw hurt and embarrassment there, which brought Theodore's blood to a raging boil all over again. So, in order to stay calm, he answered her questions with short responses, and kept to himself, hoping that by tomorrow he would be back to normal. That these feelings pushing him toward Eleanor would be subdued as they always had been.

"Ellie? Hey, wake up. Alvin just texted me."

The blonde girl stirred awake, her eyes brightening at Theodore's voice. "W-where are they?"

"They just got dropped off at the front. One of Britney's friends must have brought them. Where's Dave?" He looked across the room for Simon, who was also gone.

"He left with Ms. Miller to go get something to eat downstairs not too long after you fell asleep," she answered, yawning quietly into her hand. "I hope the doctors haven't come by."

"Did Simon come back?"

"No, I haven't seen him."

The two fell quiet again, Theodore not knowing what else to say, and Eleanor not wanting him to keep up the silent treatment.

"Does Alvin know where we are?" Eleanor asked after a moment.

"Yeah," Theodore replied, fiddling with his phone.

"Should we go look for Simon? Or try to get up with him?"

"Nah, probably not."

Eleanor fell silent for a moment, then spoke again. "Do you want to go get a drink or something?"

"Nah."

Tired of basically talking to herself, Eleanor kept quiet for as long as she could. Minutes felt like hours, and nothing could hold her attention. Defeated and exhausted from being ignored, she spoke what was on her mind in a whisper.

"I'm scared."

She felt Theodore stir beside her, and a moment passed before he spoke in return just as quietly. "Of what, Ellie?

"What if Jeanette doesn't wake up? What if I lose my sister? What if she's damaged for life? What if she's changed forever, and can't do the things she loves that she does now?"

She got up from her seat as she began to pace around the room, her voice rising as she continued speaking. "What if word gets around about what Matthew said, and the soccer coach decides to bench me because I'm too fat? What if I never play soccer again? What if I'm the laughing stock of the school because I really _am_ too fat? What if I lose all my friends because I'm too embarrassing?"

Her voice cracked as she ran her hands through her hair. "What if you're mad at me for almost getting you suspended? What if you don't want to be seen with me because of what happened today? What if you don't want to be my friend anymore because I can't take care of myself, or because I've embarrassed you? What if I lose you, Theodore?" She asked finally, the last question a whisper on her trembling lips, wet with the tears tumbling down her full cheeks.

She stood in the center of the room, the sobs beginning to shake her chest as she covered her face with her hands, trying to hide the tears. Theodore was on his feet in an instant. Seeing her cry twice in one day was more than he could bear.

"Ellie, Ellie please, _please_ don't cry. Please! I can't take it! Come here," he said, snatching her up in his arms with a strength that surprised her. He stood now, holding her tightly against his chest as the sobs of fear rushed out of her eyes, collecting against his chest. He pressed his lips to the crown of her head; he had shot up almost a head taller than her in the past year and now towered above her blonde curls.

"Jeanette is going to be fine. I can't prove it to you, and I don't know how else to put it. I don't know why, I just do. You're the best soccer player Crashcup has ever seen, and even though you're not twig-thin, you're just as fast and more clever than all the other girls on the team. If your friends don't love you for who you are, they really haven't been your friends at all, right?"

He pulled back from whispering in her ear to look at her tear-stained face. "For the last time, you are _NOT_ fat. I don't care what anybody says."

He paused for a moment, trying to properly word what he wanted to say without giving himself away. But the emotions in his heart flaring up from seeing her cry sent the real words spilling off of his tongue. "You're the most beautiful girl I've ever met. And Ellie, you will never, _ever_ lose me, no matter what happens. That's a promise."

His lips drew themselves to hers like magnets, imagining how sweet they would taste against his. But before he could experience them, he heard their siblings enter the room.

"Hey, where's--?"

Britney and Alvin stood staring at the pair as they stopped in mid-sentence, taking in Eleanor's tears and Theodore's arms wrapped tightly around her body, the two surprisingly close before jumping apart.

"I'll ask later," Britney said lightly, brushing into the room. "Where's Dave and Ms. Miller? How's Jeanette? What's going on?"

"We know just as much as you do, Britney," Eleanor replied calmly, her motherly façade taking over as she wiped at her eyes. "Dave and Ms. Miller went to go get something to eat; we've been here for two and a half hours, and the doctors haven't been in yet."

"Well, you two are no help at all," Britney whined, sitting down with a huff. "You sure you weren't too busy being—"

"Where's Simon?" Alvin interrupted, noticing his brother's absence.

"We don't know," Theodore answered, sitting down beside Eleanor, his mind still reeling from his encounter with her just seconds before. How would she handle him from now on? Would things be different between them? Did he come on too strongly?

"We figured he wanted some time alone; he was pretty upset after he left here," Eleanor finished for him, snapping Theodore back into reality.

"Well how long has he been gone?" Alvin asked, suddenly concerned.

"We fell asleep for awhile, and he was gone when we woke up, so maybe an hour and a half?" Theodore offered.

"Well damn, are you sure he's still here?!" Alvin replied, his voice spiking suddenly. "Did you think to make sure he hasn't run off somewhere?! Do you know how upset he is right now?!" He jumped to his feet, staring at Theodore and Eleanor.

"Look, Alvin, don't tell me that's why we didn't ask where he was going. _Obviously, _he was upset. We didn't want to chase after him, which I'm sure would be your first call," Theodore fired back, on his feet and in Alvin's face.

"Don't you tell me what I—"

"C'mon, Alvin, let's go walk around," Britney said, alarmed as she grabbed his arm, dragging him outside.

Theodore sighed, the breath rushing out of him as he tried to clear his head. He plopped down in an empty seat across from Eleanor, who was suddenly nervous to be in the same room with him alone.

"I…uh…I'm going to get…um, something to drink…maybe find Ms. Miller and Dave," she said suddenly, her words running together as she quickly exited the room.

Confused, Theodore raised his head from his hands, opening his mouth to call after her, but she was already gone. Defeated, he sat back in the wiry chair, emotions rushing through his brain. Had he been too apathetic with Simon about Jeanette's condition, letting him run out of the room suddenly without even checking on him? Now Alvin was mad at him, and he couldn't even get up with Dave. And how did he know Jeanette would be okay? He had heard Alvin use the phrase that he had just thrown at Eleanor a million times, but how did he really know? He had seen her tears falling and he was a goner. But how much good had that done? All those feelings he had thrown up all over her had done nothing but send her running out of the room the moment they were alone together. Sure, he knew she would never lose him, but had he lost her, his best friend?

Breaking his thoughts, Dave walked back into the waiting room with Simon behind him, dark rings underneath his eyes.

"Simon! Where have you been?!" Theodore exclaimed, so glad to see a familiar face he was almost beside himself.

"Just went to get some air. Sorry for not telling you—are you okay, Theo?" Simon asked, concern in his tired eyes.

Theodore didn't know whether to be mad at his older brother for staying gone so long, relieved he was still at the hospital, or understanding that he needed a break from all the commotion. "Y-yeah, I'm fine," he said finally, plopping back down in his chair. "Just worried about you is all."

"Oh, I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have rushed off like that," his brother replied, rubbing Theodore's hair gently as he used to when they were kids.

"Where's everyone else?" Dave asked, noting the empty room.

Theodore sighed, closing his eyes. "Alvin and I got into a little…disagreement, and he and Britney went off for a walk or something. Eleanor is…I don't know. She went to get something to drink or…something, I'm not sure," he mumbled, wanting to forget the whole encounter.

Confused, Dave sat down opposite the boys, a solemn look in his grey eyes. "Well, the doctors want to talk to you, Simon, about Jeanette's condition when you first saw her, so that they can get an idea of how to diagnose her. She may need surgery."

Theodore heard Simon gulp beside him as his arms filled with instant goosebumps. "Okay, where do I need to go?" He asked quietly.

"In a few minutes, we're to meet them in Jeanette's room. Ms. Miller is there now," Dave answered, looking at his watch. A silence fell over the trio.

"How is she, Dave?" Theodore blurted out, once again unable to hold his tongue. Seeing his brother almost shaking beside him was enough to get him rolling again.

Dave pressed his lips together before speaking. "She looks fine. Just like Jeanette." He paused before continuing, trying to keep the boys calm. "But since she's had head trauma, they're unsure of how to awaken her. As of right now, she's…in a coma," he finished, speaking slowly, as if the words were hard to form.

Theodore imagined delicate Jeanette, her glasses missing, her dark brown hair sprawled across the stark white hospital pillow. What he didn't want to imagine was his brother's face when he walked in and saw her, helpless and unconscious, especially when he could do nothing about it.

Surprising to most, out of the three brothers, Simon was the strong and silent one. It had started when they were children, and developed as they got older. Alvin was the center of attention, the eye catcher. When a problem arose, most would assume he was the leader. Alvin was brave, and would charge into any situation. Theodore viewed himself as always looking before leaping, and always wary of what dangers may lay ahead. But Simon was always the wise one; he always had a plan, and never moved forward until he had reasoned the situation a number of different ways. However, when it came to one of the girls, Alvin was the one to sit down on a personal level and reason, like one would believe Simon to do. Personally, Theodore wasn't much more than jello when one of the girls was upset, especially Eleanor. As for Simon, he was a complete paradox of himself at the first sign of anguish. His spine was straighter than the rest, and he always charged forward to save the day. Seeming to switch roles with Alvin, Theodore envied his brother's take-charge attitude, reflected in his eyes now.

"C'mon, Dave. Let's go," Simon spoke quietly, rising from the chair and walking out the door, determination in his step.

Dave sighed as he looked over at Theodore. "We'll be back shortly. Call me if you need me."

Theodore nodded silently as Dave exited the room, leaving him alone again with his thoughts.


End file.
